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Gor
Gor (pronounced Gore) is a hidden planet within the Sol System, known as simply the Solar System by Earthians, that maintains the same orbit as Earth. It is known as Counter-Earth by Goreans. Transported by the Priest-Kings about two million years ago for some, currently, unknown purpose. It is home to the humanoid species of Goreans and various animal, plant, and extraterrestrial lifeforms. The Goreans are a culturally and socially diverse species that rules the vast majority of the planet. Name & Etymology The name of the planet, Gor, is believed to have derived from the Proto-Germanic word of gurą, which means to ferment or fermented. The Old English word for gor actually means dirt. However, the real etymology of the word in this case is unknown. John Norman is a philosophy professor from the United States and it is assumed that he took the word from inspiration of ancient and historical languages. As of right now, this author can only speculate as to the actual origin of the name. Composition & Structure As John Norman is not a physical sciences expert, the actual known composition and structure of the planet is very undocumented. Therefore, what is written here is merely based on either direct description from the Chronicles of Gor or based on assumptions due to descriptions within them. It is assumed based on descriptions of the planet that it is either shaped very similar to Earth or that it has a spheroid (rounded and inverted 'top') shape. It is largely believed that is very similar to Earth in almost every aspect except a few. It is well known that Gor has a lower gravity that has been customized heavily by the Priest-Kings. It has an equatorial belt located just slightly north of the Jungles of Schendi. It has two polar regions, located in the extreme south and north. Obviously, due to the lack of industrial technology and the limited number of sentient beings on the planet, the atmosphere itself is much cleaner, much stronger, and completely unpolluted. Due to the planet being, currently known, to be more than 70% land rather than 70% water, it is believed that this is the reason for the higher average temperatures on the planet. The planet is structured of one major continent and several dozen small islands in the world's only ocean. The continent is 'separated' into two distinct hemispheres: Northern and Southern. Strangely, these 'hemispheres' are not the physical sides based on the equator, but rather they are cultural-political borders which identify the major separation of cultures between the northern and southern regions. Some major land structures are the Hills of Eteocles, Fulvians Hills, Hrimgar Mountains, Sardar Mountains, Ta-Thassa Mountains, Thentis Mountains, and the Voltai Range. The major land areas are The Barrens, the Forests of Northern Gor, the Jungles of Schendi, Plains of Turia, Tahari, and Torvaldsland. There are currently 12 named and known major rivers (Cartius, Issus, Kamba, Laurius, Lower Fayeen, Nyoka, Olni, Thassa Cartius, Ua, Upper Fayeen, Verl, and Vosk) running through the landmass of Gor along with 4 major lakes (Ias, Ngao, Shaba, and Ushindi), two major river exits (Tamber Gulf and Vosk Delta), and a large ocean called the Thassa Sea. The Thassa is a massive ocean approximately 3/4 the size of the Atlantic Ocean. As the actual 'ends' of the planet have never been truly discovered, it is assumed that the entire west side of the Thassa, approximately 400 pasangs from its shores, are the physical border that is considered the 'edge' of the world. This is purely speculative and no one has a definitive answer as one has not been given. All those who have tried to travel west of the shores of the Thassa, past the islands in the Thassa, have never returned and were never heard from again. This area of the planet is called World's End. Orbit & Rotation The orbit of Gor is exactly the same as Earth, except a few hundreds of thousands of kilometers closer and always on the opposite side of the Sun to the Earth. It is still within the Goldilocks Zone and thus retains its ability to have a fruitful, life-bearing atmosphere. Gor has an axis a few degrees sharper than Earth. It is unknown exactly the angle of the tilt. Gor has the same seasons as Earth except they are more universal across the majority of the planet. It is not entirely certain or given reason as to why. It is most likely due to convenience by John Norman just to make it easier for readers. Habitability As stated in a previous section, the life on this planet is very similar to Earth. In fact, much of the planet's fauna and flora is based, in some way, on Earth biology. The vast majority of life on Gor are animals and plants. It is a rough estimate that there are about 1 million Goreans living on the planet, but several billion animals and plants. Gor has a very diverse ecosystem, complex and varied, with many carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores. It has every environment known to Earth on it: desert, jungle, temperate forest, grasslands, plains, tundra, mountains, etc... It is not known if Volcanoes exist on Gor as there are no to little description of any volcanoes. There are earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and powerful storms on Gor, but they are few and far in-between. The fault lines of Gor are not known in both name or location. To view the various animals and plants of Gor, please check out our Fauna & Flora category. Cultural & Historical Viewpoint Gor's history is not entirely known and there are significant gaps of exactly when certain events occurred. While the calender system of Gor is well-established, some events are not established specifically in the timeline. For those, a generally considered date will be used. The history that will be here is ongoing and will be a generalized summary of events rather than full copies of the events. For full information, please consult the Chronicles of Gor, the novel series which Gor is based on, and find out for yourself. Chronology It is extremely unknown how this planet formed, where it originally was in the cosmos, and how the Priest-Kings moved it to its current location. What is known that around 2 million years ago, the Priest-Kings took a planet from an unknown system and transported it to its current orbit with the Earth. Basically, it is considered commonly as the time when Gor itself became populated and mixed genetically with Earthian biology. The Priest-Kings looked into our future and saw that there was so much death and destruction, that we would put ourselves into extinction. To save our species and the billions of animals and plants that exist on Earth, these aliens brought samples to Gor and began manipulating them and dispersing them across the surface of the planet. This is assumed to be around 1 million B.C. and started with the development of humanity, homo erectus, as we would become. They have since made hundreds if not thousands of Journies of Acquisition to keep the genetic diversity of the planet strong. In the mid-1940s, during World War II, it was decided by the Priest-Kings that Journies of Acquisition would increase exponentially given the rising population and the likelihood of nuclear devastation. Other than this, there is nothing else definitely known about the planet's individual development and history. Moons Gor is orbited by three moons of varying size. There is little to no information on these moons, even names except one known as the Prison Moon. It is assumed that as they are pretty much white when viewed from the planet's surface, these moons are similar in composition and structure as the Moon. Category:Space Category:Locations